{"id":2893,"date":"2017-02-20T13:24:23","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T13:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/?p=2893"},"modified":"2017-02-20T13:24:23","modified_gmt":"2017-02-20T13:24:23","slug":"simple-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/simple-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Welcome to the art\/life trail.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #808000;\">I thought we\u2019d open this week with a salute to <em><span style=\"color: #993366;\"><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.randomactsofkindness.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kindness Week<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Even though the week is now behind us it&#8217;s worth carrying random acts of kindness forward as\u00a0the trail stretches out ahead.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">February brings us the Renewal Moon cycle. How powerful and focused it is to consider those parts of ourselves that are worth investing in. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\"><strong>How Do You Commit?<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Random Acts of Kindness create instant Renewal in the field. I know that we can share kindness with one another in many ways on our daily trail yet there is something quite special and profound when we do something random that impacts someone we may never see or meet.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Last week I was picking up supplies for my Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art kids. I laid my purchases down for the cashier and she informed me that the person before me had left &#8220;this five dollar bill toward your purchase&#8221;. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">How kind. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">How very friendly. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">How lovely to be the recipient of someone\u2019s thoughtfulness.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #808000;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2894 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Kindnessday2.jpg?resize=300%2C251\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Kindnessday2.jpg?resize=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Kindnessday2.jpg?resize=768%2C643&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Kindnessday2.jpg?w=836&amp;ssl=1 836w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Drozda image, Kelly Johnson graphic design, Wise Words by Lao Tzu<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #808000;\"><b>Reflecting<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #808000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back in October, during the Experience Moon cycle, we began to consider the power of the dismount. We had been riding full out through the spring and summer. By mid December, during the Strength Moon, we were willing to jump off the horse in favor of <\/span><b><i>Becoming Horse<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We began to pace ourselves so that the rush to get somewhere transformed into our yearly opportunity to BE. Each year we\u00a0receive six moon\/months to practice <strong>being<\/strong>&#8230;15 minutes a day taps you in. <\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">With October&#8217;s inner turn toward the Underworld we travel in and down to find our roots. By February we have traveled far and wide&#8230;Being Horse. As we approach March 20 and the spring equinox turn attention toward renewal. Wake up and purify thoughts and feelings.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2898 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/KindnessDay3.png?resize=300%2C251\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/KindnessDay3.png?resize=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/KindnessDay3.png?resize=768%2C644&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/KindnessDay3.png?w=940&amp;ssl=1 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 14px; color: #808000;\">Drozda image, Kelly Johnson graphic design, Wise Words by Aesop<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">In the last post\u00a0we considered the quality of the maelstrom. Look at the Topside world. Listen to comments overheard in conversation. Listen to the news. Note\u00a0differences of opinion. See countless examples of how current chaos creates confusion, depression, frustration and a sense of wrong. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #808000;\">Keep Your Focus <\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">This is your time to keep the focus upon the inner realm of the gold mine\/mind below the surface&#8230;think of the storm at sea and how beneath the roiling waves there is the calm life carrying on deep below. During this time of distraction consider where your wealth lies and on what you can afford to invest. \u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">This week we include two prayer\/poems from my book <em><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\"><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/care-givers-book\/\">Twenty Two Prayer Poems for Care Givers<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u2026<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #808000;\">Laugh Life<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #993366;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can you imagine what it means to have no cares, no worries, no anxieties, but merely to be perfectly calm and quiet all the time? This is what time is for, to learn just this and nothing more.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A_Course_in_Miracles\">ACIM<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Dear One,<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #808000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once again I stand on the edge of unknowing.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am willing to be helped.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today I ask only that You assist me.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #808000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help me to welcome and remember<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That there is nothing my holiness<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cannot do as a child of the Light<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">As a child of the Earth.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">This place and all of its problems and concerns<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Seems unreal at best and deeply frightening at worst.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Send in all of the Angelic Helpers.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Lift me up above the battlefields.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I am here only to be truly helpful.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">You have taught me the You<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Will live with me and teach with me.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I need only to think with You.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Clear my mind of any clutter.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Lift my spirit and take me home<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Where lightness surrounds.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">This place can seem so serious.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I get caught in trying to be certain.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I experience such self importance.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Carry me into the atmosphere of joy.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I breathe in the awareness of You<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Being closer than my hands and closer than my feet.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Amen<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #808000;\">Falling<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Come to the edge.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #808000;\">No, we will fall.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Come to the edge.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">No, We will fall.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"color: #808000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They came to the edge.<br \/>\nHe pushed them and they flew.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #993366;\"><em><strong><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guillaume_Apollinaire\">Appolinaire<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993366;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Dear One,<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">When I look into the face of death I want to run away.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I feel so helpless.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">What can I do for this one who lies before me?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">How can I say any words that mean anything to this one<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">So soon to depart this world?<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I touch a hand that soon will carry no sign of life.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I listen to breathing that is gasping for a hold.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I see a body that is weak and suffering.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">I taste an odor in the air that reminds me of the<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Path I also walk and I become unsettled<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">And squirmy and afraid.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Help me to be present for this one today.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Touch in on my fearlessness and gently take my hand.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Listen to my breathing and calm my mind.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">See my body infusing the atmosphere with compassion<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Radiating from the quiet center of my heart.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Help me taste the sweetness of the sacred<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Rite of passage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">It is truly an honor to visit this edge with You beside me. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Thank You in advance for what I will face this day.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #808000;\">Amen<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2719 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Deep-Hunger.jpg?resize=300%2C300\" alt=\"A Deep Hunger\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Deep-Hunger.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Deep-Hunger.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/A-Deep-Hunger.jpg?w=740&amp;ssl=1 740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #808000; font-size: 14px;\">A Deep Hunger, Drozda, Acrylic\/board, 18 x18&#8243;<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #808000;\">I&#8217;m so glad that you are here. I invite you to consider the ways in which you can continue to renew your commitment to the beauty, wonder and goodness of your art\/life and to the world.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #808000;\">This has been an exciting week in many ways. I had a birthday and turned the Wheel of Life for the 68th time on February 15. I feel\u00a0steeped and surrounded by love from all directions and I am\u00a0so grateful for so many well wishes&#8230;thank you all. <\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #808000;\">To mark this new personal beginning I also give thanks for the call that came last fall inviting me\u00a0to be included in an article on <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"http:\/\/distinctionhr.com\/shorthand_story\/environmentalists\/\">The Art of Saving the World <\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #808000;\">now<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in the current issue of <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DistinctionMagazine\/\">Distinction Magazine<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #808000;\">I look forward to seeing you next time on the art\/life trail.<\/span><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the art\/life trail. I thought we\u2019d open this week with a salute to Kindness Week. Even though the week is now behind us it&#8217;s worth carrying random acts of kindness forward as\u00a0the trail stretches out ahead. February brings us the Renewal Moon cycle. How powerful and focused it is to consider those parts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[167,36,79,193,2,183],"tags":[229,228,43,49,10,16],"class_list":["post-2893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-act-iii","category-artlife","category-buddhism","category-creative-life","category-natural-time-management","category-voluntary-simplicity","tag-acim","tag-distinction-magazine","tag-lunar-phases","tag-masculinefeminine-time","tag-natural-time","tag-slow-time"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6htPT-KF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2893"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2901,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions\/2901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}